What is the cause of chest pains?

Many possibilities: A person with chest pain should see her doctor to be examined. Pains can come from a heart problem (serious!), neck and shoulder muscles, the ribs and their joints, the "pleural" lining of the lungs and ribs, the lungs themselves, etc... If one feels her pain is coming from the heart, has a chest tightness, some difficulty breathing, or has past heart disease, she can go to the ER by ambulance.

Many things!: The most worrisome cause of chest pain is, of course, heart problems, but the esophagus is a common source of chest pain, and some chest pains can originate from the lung or the pleura (tissue around the lungs) or the chest wall - muscle, ribs, breast bone. Nerve irritation can also be a culprit.